Mast cells and their importance for the immune system

Abstract

Mast cells, which originate from bone marrow tissue, have some important functions and
can be located in areas such as respiratory epithelium, gastrointestinal tract, and skin.
They play essential roles in many different events such as tissue repair, innate and
adaptive immunity, and allergic reactions. Mast cells, which release various mediators as
a result of exposure to different stimuli, can take part in both some pathological and some
physiological processes thanks to these mediators. Among these mediators, which have
some important effects and duties; histamine, some cytokines, leukotrienes, some
proteoglycans, prostaglandins, platelet activating factor (PAF) and some neutral
proteases. In this review study we will focus on the mast cells and their functions.